Abbi Pulling delivered a landmark performance at Spa-Francorchamps as she claimed her first GB3 Championship victory with a faultless Race 1 drive for Rodin Motorsport.
The 2024 F1 Academy champion converted pole position into victory after a long weather delay, managing the start, a Safety Car restart and late pressure from championship leader Nikita Bedrin. In doing so, she became the first female driver to win a GB3 race.
Pulling’s victory also came after a challenging start to her GB3 campaign at Silverstone. However, at Spa, she showed clear progress, controlled the race from the front and proved she could compete on merit at the sharp end of the field.
Pulling celebrates breakthrough GB3 win
After stepping out of the car, Pulling made no attempt to hide her emotion. The Rodin Motorsport driver described the result as deeply satisfying, particularly after focusing on areas she wanted to improve from the opening round.
“Bloody good. Bloody good. I had to work for it and there’s some sore points that I’ve had from Silverstone. My race start, [I’ve] gone and absolutely nailed it. I just can’t thank the team enough, can’t thank everyone around me. I’ve got so many people around me.
Pulling’s start proved crucial. After taking pole in Friday’s opening Qualifying session, she launched cleanly and held the lead on the run towards Les Combes. That immediately gave her control of the race and allowed her to dictate the pace before the Safety Car neutralised the field.
Moreover, her comments showed how much the result meant after Silverstone. Rather than simply benefiting from track position, Pulling identified a weakness, addressed it, and executed when it mattered.
Victory becomes a family birthday gift
Pulling also connected the victory to a personal moment, with the win arriving just before her father’s birthday. Although the date briefly caused some confusion after the weather-disrupted day, she quickly turned the result into a fitting present.
“It’s my dad’s birthday tomorrow. So this is his birthday gift. So I’m handing them all out.”
The result carried wider meaning too. Pulling had already made history on Friday by taking her maiden GB3 pole position. She then turned that qualifying achievement into an even bigger milestone by winning the race.
As a result, the Spa weekend has already become one of the most important moments of her single-seater career since her F1 Academy title campaign.
Pulling explains key middle-sector focus
The race day itself started in difficult circumstances. Heavy rain and poor visibility forced officials to abandon the original start procedure, leaving the field waiting for conditions to improve.
Once the race finally began, Pulling had to adapt quickly to a very different Spa. After a chaotic morning, sunshine returned and the race went ahead with the original grid order retained.
“Wait, oh yeah. I thought it was Sunday, you know. It’s all been a bit of a… You wouldn’t expect this to be the same day, how the morning was. So I’m just happy I got racing, happy I got to do the result. I’ve tried really hard. I mean, I know the boys are on different downforce levels to us. So I know I really had to make the difference in that middle sector and paid off, to say the least.”
That middle-sector performance became one of the defining features of her win. While rivals tried to keep close enough for a slipstream on the Kemmel Straight, Pulling repeatedly created enough margin through Spa’s more technical sections.
Therefore, even when Bedrin moved into second late in the race, she had already built the rhythm and confidence required to keep him out of reach.
Pulling nails restart under pressure
Pulling also had to manage a Safety Car restart after her early advantage disappeared. With the pack bunched behind her, she needed to time the restart perfectly to prevent those behind from using the slipstream into Les Combes.
She did exactly that. Pulling delayed her acceleration, caught the field out, and immediately rebuilt enough of a gap to protect the lead.
“Yeah, the restart, I was like, I’m going to surprise myself. I just went, you know, there was no rhyme or reason to it. I was like, yeah… honestly, I’m absolutely over the moon. And I always say I want to get placed on merit and just show that I can compete at the front no matter what, no matter the competition. And I’ve done that today.
“And I can’t thank the team, Rodin Motorsport, Rodin Cars, all my sponsors. I’ve had a few people come on board this weekend as well. So, you know, everyone that knows… I can’t thank them all because there’s too many. But everyone who’s helped me, they know that this thanks is to them, you know.”
Her restart underlined the maturity of the drive. Pulling had already handled the initial launch well, but the restart required a different kind of control. She judged the moment, protected the lead and then returned to the pace that had carried her clear earlier in the race.
Pulling proves her place at the front
Pulling’s post-race comments made the wider significance of the victory clear. She did not want the result to be viewed as symbolic only; she wanted it to show that she could win against a strong GB3 field on performance.
At Spa, she did exactly that. She took pole, led from the start, managed the restart and resisted pressure from one of the championship’s most experienced front-runners.
Consequently, the win gives Pulling a major platform for the rest of the weekend and the wider season. More importantly, it confirms that her pace and racecraft can place her firmly among GB3’s leading contenders.
